HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR OF THE ROOSTER!

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR OF THE ROOSTER! People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, determined, busy & talented. Although they can be a bit eccentric & self-centered, they are always interesting & brave. Often Rooster people are moody & loners, but they are capable of being a loyal friend.

“Kung Hei Fat Choy” means Congratulations & Prosperity & is the greeting of good wishes for Chinese New Year. You can follow this with “May you enjoy good health” & “May your million wishes be fulfilled!” Red envelopes called Lai See, are given to children with “lucky” money. Long strips of red paper with written expressions of wishes for a long life, prosperity &a successful career are hung on doorways. A red scroll with the New Year’s ghost hunter God Zhong Kui are hung on household gates as a guardian spirit. Zhong Kui is a vanquisher of ghosts & evil beings & reputedly able to command 80,000 demons. He is often shown with a bat for prosperity & scrolls with him are hung in businesses.

Fireworks & the red paper scrolls are to scare off Nian, a beast that preyed on people the night before New Year. Red is the color of the day to wear & to decorate your home. Drangon & Lion dances are good omens to repel demons & evil & to bring good luck.

A dinner is served symbolizing abundance & wealth. Each of the corses signifies a good wish for happiness, good luck or prosperity. A “Prosperity Tray” is an 8–sided tray containing: Pomegranates & Lotus Seeds = Future fertility & prosperity, Grapefruit/Oranges/Tangerines = Wealth & Abundance, Sugarcane = Enticing the Kitchen Goods to say nice things about you, Fish = The word for fish “Yu” sounds the same as the word for “plentiful”, Chicken = A stand-in for the Pheonix bird, which signifies re-birth, Dumplings = Resemble gold nuggets for prosperity, Oysters = Good Business wishes. A Chinese rice-cake is served to wish you growth & good wishes in the coming years.

The festival lasts 15 days & the Lantern Festival marks the end of Chinese New Year. Rooster & Zhong Kui paintings are my Chinese brush paintings. The photo is a some lucky scrolls to wish you “Kung Hei Fat Choy” MAY YOUR MILLION WISHES BE FULFILLED!